Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-08-26
THE SECRET OF PopoOGIE.
A Curious Western Stream that Rivals
Haggard's Hidden Water Course.


LANDER, n. Y, Aug. 19-In the canon
of the Popoogie 0rom which rushes the
Popoogie river at a point seven miles
above Lander) is what is called the
"Sink." Here the river sinks abruptly
from sight, disappearing in a lofty and ap
parently impenetrable wall of rock A
quarter of mile below the stream
emerges stronger clearer and more spark
ling than ever.
Jacob Gaylor, an old hunter, has found
and penetrated the secret passage. Pro
ceeding to the spot where the wild noun
tain stream foamed and ragged against the
wall of rock, Gaylor removed his cloth
ing, attached one end of stout rope 60
feet in length to a convenient tree, and
fastening the other end to his waist and
diving deep into the raging waters, trust
ed himself to the current. He was swept
away with velocity akin to that of a
bullet, and scarcely had he started in his
wild journey before it was over. The
strain of the rope brought him to the sur
face, and a sensation of relief shot through
him as he realized that no rock wall press
ed down to coffin him
On getting the water out of his eyes
Gaylor opened them in Il semi-obscurity--
a sort of late twilight His first care was
to land and free himself from the rope.
which scanty light was thrown from the
crevices in the rocky roof far overhead.
and through the centre of which rushed
the waters of the Popoogie. These waters
flowed in deep trench, followed by their
own action through ages in the solid rock
which floored the cavern. Following the
stream for 100 yards the adventurer found
| himself gazing on sight which sent a
| thrill of horror through even him.
| The stream abruptly entered huge cylin-
drical shaft sunk in the floor of the cav
ern. The mouth of this shaft was fully
20 feet in circumference, and Gaylor could
| hear the water roaring far below in the
depths. This shaft was at the extremity
of the cavern, and Gaylor began to feal
| that he was caught in a death trap. He
| began an anxious and hurried search for a
mode of egress from the cavern, and at
last discovered narrow opening in the
wslls about midway between the point
where the waters entered the cavern and
| the shaft in which they disappeared.
Passing with great difficulty through
| this opening, Gaylor was suddenly precip
itated a distance of 20 feet Bruised and
half stunned, he gathered himself up and
saw that he was in a second cavern con
sderably larger than that from which he
had just emerged. The light in this sub
terranean room was much better than in
the one above it, and on looking around
him Gaylor perceived in the cavern's cen.
| tire huge column composed of basalt al
the same time his ears informed him of q
muffled but heavy roar in the immediate
vicinity. AS he approached the hasalt
column, which reached to the cavern's
roof 30 feet above, this roaring
waXed louder, and he felt a jarring sen
sation. Walking up to the column he
placed his hand upon it's gltterng
dark green surface, and felt it culver be
meath his touch, while the mufIled roal
grew almost deafening. The basalt col
umn of the lower cavern was the shaft OF
| the upper cavern. 1t was hollow, and
through it poured the waters of the hid
den passage This immense rock tube
was just 30 feet in circumference, which
basing the calculation on the circumfer
ence of the mouth of the shaft in the up
per cavern would make the walls OF the
tube thickness of about four feet
Gaylor now continued his search for 3
way of escape, and soon found where tn,
waters of the hidden passage, after emery
ing from the basalt tube, brought NJ
against the cavern wall. Rightly con
occurring that this was the point from
which the water returned to the light o
day, the adventurer plunged in deep anC
almost instantly found himself beyond tn
hidden passage and swimming in waite :
that sparkled beneath the sun.